Ash removing appliance for furnaces



A. J. MALONEY ASH REMOVING APPLIANCE FOR FURNACES I Fild Oct. 7; 1929 jyzv 612501 Mala] Patented N t. is, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANDREW J. MALONEY, OF MERION, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOB TO THE PHILADELPHIA.

& READING COAL & IRON COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, CORPO- RATION OF PENNSYLVANIA ASE. REMOVING APPLIANCE FOB FURNACES Application filed October 7, 1929. Serial No. 397,834.

My invention relates to furnaces, particularly of the domestic furnace type, and has for its object to provide simple and efficient mechanism for automatically removin the ashes from the ash pit. Broadly spea ing, my invention consists in providing the furnace ash pit with a conduit through which air and ashes can be drawn from the, ash pit, providing this conduit with a motor actuated device to create a draft therethrough, providing in the ash pit a resiliently supported platform to receive and support the ashes and providing a controller actuated by the up and down movements of the ash supporting platform and operating to start and stop the motor driven appliance for creating a draft in the-conduit. By preference I also provide means for opening and closing the passage between the furnace proper and its ash pit, said means being actuated by a solenoid magnet J, the'starting and stopping of which is also controlled by the controller actuated by the resilientl supported platform.

My invention will e best understood as described in connection with the drawing in which it'is illustrated and in which Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, showing my devices as applied to an ordinary type of domestic furnace.

Figure 2 shows a portion of the resiliently supported platform and the controller connected thereto, which in the illustrated con struction is an electric switch. 7

Figure 3 is a view on a larger scale showing one end of the apron or partition, which in the illustrated construction is the appliance used/for opening and closing the passage between the furnace and the ash pit, this view also showing an electric controller or switch actuated by the movements of the apron and Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the motor construction which is shown in Figure 1 as a device for actuating the apron.

. A is the furnace; A the furnace grate; A the ash pit; A the dam r door leading into the ash pit. A is a. ue leading from the furnace tothe stack A. B and B indicate the conduit for air and ashes drawn from the ash pit and shown as connected with an ash receptacle 0. A continuation from the conduitleads from the ash receptacle as indicated at B through a motor driven draft creating fan indicated at D, from which a further continuation of the conduit indicated at B leads to the open air. It is advisable that a screen be sup lied to prevent the passa e of light ash fi'om the rece tacle G and I ave indicated such a screen at E is the platform located near the bottom of the ash pit and resiliently supported therein as by means of springs indicated at F. .G is a flexible metallic apron carryin as shown, a block G at its free end, whic slides in a groove a in the furnace wall. The other end ofthe apron is attached to a spindle H to which is also attached a gear wheel H The apron ma be made of such thin metal as is used in t e construction of Farrand rules.-

I indicates a rack engaged with the gear wheel H and normally drawn downward b the spring I, the effect of this downwar movement being to coil the apron around the spindle. The upper end of the rack is actuated by the armature of a solenoid motor in:

dicated at J and so arranged that when the solenoid is actuated the. armature and the attached rack are drawn up with the effect of uncoiling the flexible apron and forcing it across the space between the furnace and the ash pit.

The main controller device consists of an electric switch indicated at K, connected as shown to the solenoid by wires K the battery K being located in the circuit. L indicates the second controller device, here indicated as an electric switch, which is closed by the contact piece Z attached to the block G.

This switch opens and closes the circuit wires flexible a mm and forces it across the space between t e furnace and the ash pit. At or near the close of this movement the switch L, Z is closed and a current established through the motor D of the draft appliance, the starting of which creates a draft through the ash box, which carries the ashes accumulated on the platform into and through the conduit B and B into the ash receptacle C, the air passing from the ash receptacle through the motor driven fan to a point of esca e.

It will be obvious that as the ashes are car ried away from the platform the platform will rise, opening the controller switch K, which will deenergize the solenoid J Whereupon the spring I will retract the flexible apron, by means of the rack I and spindle H opening the controller switch L, Z, which will deenergize the motor drive draft appliance D.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: p

1. In combination with a fire box and an ash pit located to receive ashes therefrom, a conduit for air and ashes connected to the ash it, motor actuated means for creating a draf t through the conduit and ash pit, resiliently supported means for receiving and supporting ashes in the ash pit, means for starting and stopping the motor actuated draft creating means including a controller actuated by the up and down movements of the resiliently supported ash receiving support, means for opening and closing the connection between the fire box and ash pit, and mechanism for actuating said last named means controlled by the controller.

2. A furnace appliance as called for in claim 1, in which the means for starting and stopping the motor actuated draft creating means includes a second controller actuated by the movements of the opening and closing means and controlling in turn the starting and stopping of the motor actuated draft device.

ANDREW J. MALONEY. 

